Preliminary chemical urinalysis screening of trade horses at Obollo-Afor lairage, Enugu State Nigeria, using urine test strips

Urinalysis is an inexpensive diagnostic tool that is used to detect several diseases of importance in both animals and humans. There is dearth of information in available literature on the chemical urinalysis of Nigerian horses. This study undertook a preliminary chemical analysis of urine of a sample population of horses billed for slaughter at the Obollo-Afor horse abattoir. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A total of 342 horses were surveyed from February to May 2024. The horses were physically examined before slaughter, and categorized into apparently healthy/unhealthy, young/adults, and females/males. Urine samples were collected and urinalysis was done using Medi-Test Combi 9® urinalysis test strips. Blood, urobilinogen, bilirubin, protein, nitrite, ketones, ascorbic acid, glucose and pH levels of urine were detected and quantified. Data obtained from the study were subjected to descriptive statistics, Chi square and/or Fisher’s exact test as appropriate. Results showed that more females (64%) were slaughtered than males (36%). High urine levels of bilirubin (> 4 mg/dl) was recorded in 2.3% of the horses, while 9.6% of the urine samples tested positive for nitrites (> 0.05 mg/dl). All the horses surveyed had normal urine levels of glucose (< 100 mg/dl), ketones (< 25 mg/dl) and urobilinogen (< 1 mg/dl). Urine protein levels were higher than normal (> 100 mg/dl) in 1.2% of the horses, while urine ascorbic acid levels were higher than normal (> 10 mg/dl) in 1.5% of the horses. Urine pH was acidic in 1.2% of the horses. Erythrocytes were found in 4.4% of the horses while high levels of haemoglobin/myoglobin were found in 1.2% of the horses. The results of the study furnished preliminary information on the levels of chemical metabolites in urine of the horses sampled; which is indicative of the presence or absence of certain diseases and/or disorders. The information shall be useful for the clinical examination of Nigerian horses and also for further studies.